Slow cookers provide a simple cooking method for cooking particular dishes, including stews, pot roasts, chili, soups, and the like. One popular type of slow cooker is known as a crock pot. Although slow cookers cook these types of dishes in a desirable fashion, the ceramic cooking pot of the slow cooker can often become encrusted with burned on food residue which is difficult to clean. Accordingly, disposable liners may be placed inside the container of the slow cooker to cover the interior surfaces of the slow cooker thereby keeping the food separate from the surfaces of the slow cooker. These liners may include bag-shaped liners having a tubular body sealed at a bottom end and at the sides, and having an opening at a top end. When a user is finished with the slow cooker, the disposable liners can be removed and discarded, leaving little or no clean up.
The known liners for slow cookers, however, have certain shortcomings. For example, when the liners are placed in the slow cooker, excess material near the top or open end of the liner loosely folds over the rim of the slow cooker. This excess and loose liner material may interfere with cooking. Things, such as cooking utensils, may get caught on the excess and loose part of the liner, may catch and pull on the liner, etc. Also, the excess and loose part at the top of the line gives a sloppy appearance to the presentation and hence may be aesthetically displeasing to the user. Also, the liner may fall into the slow cooker, for example during loading, stirring and/or serving. Furthermore, loose liners tend to settle down into the contents of the slow cooker, creating a mess.
It is known to provide a rubber band to hold a looser fitting liner in place. However, rubber bands suffer a fatal failure problem in that a tear in the rubber band will cause the liner to fall into the cooking vessel. Any failure in the rubber band causes a complete failure of the rubber band resulting in a loose and unsecure liner. In addition, rubber bands are not approved for food service applications and also are not suitable for high temperature applications. Further, the rubber band is separate from the liner adding an extra part for manufacturing, inventory, display, sales, etc. purposes. Moreover, the rubber band application typically requires two people to implement—i.e., one to hold the liner in place and another to stretch and place the rubber band over the top opening of the slow cooker and the liner.
It is also known to provide elastic proximate the top opening of the liner bag in order to secure the liner in place and to reduce the likelihood of the liner falling back into the slow cooker. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/160,623, entitled Slow Cooker Liner With Securing Band discloses a slow cooker liner with an elastic securing band. The liner system disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/160,623 comprises a securing band that is not adhered to the liner along its length, but that is adhered to the liner at its ends. One problem with this design is that a tear or other failure in the elastic may cause the entire elastic band to fail.
What is needed is a liner having an elastic band design that reduces and/or prevents failure of the entire elastic band in the event of a tear in a portion of the elastic. What is also needed is a liner with an elastic band that provides a more aesthetically pleasing appearance of the liner and the cooking vessel. In addition, what is needed is an elastic band that is encapsulated or built into the liner to hold the liner in place and prevent it from falling back into the cooking vessel. Further, what is needed is a liner having an elastic band that is safe for and approved for food service application. What is needed is a liner having a built-in elastic band that is suitable for high temperature applications.